AT LEAST 77 people are in hospital after a café exploded in Vélez-Málaga due to a possible gas leak.
Emergency services say they started getting calls from around 19.00 last night (Saturday) about the conflagration in a coffee shop on the C/ Montera in the town centre, which is currently celebrating its local festival.
Around 73 members of the public suffered cuts and bruises, of whom some 20 were treated at the Vélez Sur health centre and discharged on the same day.
But at least four people have been seriously injured and some of them are thought to be in a critical condition.
Firefighters, National and Local Police, the Guardia Civil and a fleet of ambulances rushed to the scene.
Mayor Antonio Moreno Ferrer says the explosion appears to have been caused by a gas leak ignited when heating up food.
The fire and the force of the blast blew the windows out of the café, Moreno Ferrer reveals.
All legally-required safety and insurance certificates are requested from participants at the fair ahead of each annual event, the mayor assures, meaning a full inquiry will now be launched to find out what happened.
Photograph: Andalucía emergency services on Twitter (@infoemergencias)
